Stories

The WWU Alumni Association board of directors is an increasingly diverse group of accomplished alums

The Western Alumni Association Board of Directors has become an increasingly diverse group of accomplished alumni. The eight individuals who began their terms July 1 helped make the 30-member board more inclusive among gender, age groups, class years, ethnicity and geographical locations.

Each member serves on at least one of the board's eight active committees: Alumni Awards, Community Engagement, Finance, Governance, Legislative, Nominat1ons, Retreat and Scholarship.

The new members are:

Victor Cruz ('81)

Location: Benton City

Major: Industrial Technology

Second life: After an engineering career with Westinghouse, he founded a winery, Canon de Sol.

Grape wisdom: "Education opened many doors for me and gave me the opportunity to take a risk in the wine industry."

Western duo: He is married to Kim Douglas Cruz ('81).

Stephanie Artino('98)

Location: Bellingham

Major: Accounting

Day job: CPA/principal with Metcalf Hodges P.S.

An edge from Western: "The business school at Western (gives) graduates a good pass rate for the CPA exam."

Western's campus is: "Beautiful to walk through, even in the wind and rain. It's what made me fall in love with Bellingham and not want to leave."